SC State University confirmed Monday that it has joined other Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) schools in discussing plans for a proposed 2011 Legacy Bowl.

The game would match the top MEAC team against the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

SC State athletics director Charlene Johnson said the game would generate additional revenue at a time when MEAC schools have seen funding cuts.

According to published reports, the two conferences would split $3 million for the televised game.

But sources also report that, under terms being discussed, the SWAC championship game would cease to exist and the MEAC would no longer receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division I playoff field.

Losing their automatic berth to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs – and thus the possibility of a national title – has not played well with some MEAC fans. Some have complained that MEAC schools would have a harder time recruiting top talent.

“Hell let's just separate and segregate ourselves from the NCAA's governance completely, and form our own Negro League while we're at it!” one writer quipped on Rattler Nation, a website for Florida A&M University fans.

“The conferences already play in the MEAC/SWAC challenge at the beginning of the season,” said another. “That's enough! You always want to compete against the best. Not just the HBCU's best!”

Said Johnson, the SC State athletic director: “It is important that our student-athletes have a chance to play for a national championship, however the university and other schools in our conference must explore avenues that could generate additional revenues which would help us to field viable programs and be competitive. Although the Legacy Bowl would take away the opportunity for our schools to participate in the playoffs, it would provide an avenue for us to gain significant additional funding.

Any agreement, she said, would be reached collectively with other MEAC schools, with the final vote coming from the respective chancellors and presidents.

In addition to SC State and FAMU, other MEAC schools include Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, Hampton, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State and N.C. A&T.
 

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